


sweater weather

by yueninja



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Softness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 02:26:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12571680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yueninja/pseuds/yueninja
Summary: It's the sweaters, Kyungsoo keeps telling himself. It's the sweaters that get Baekhyun to hug him.





	sweater weather

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for the terribly uninspired title

_It’s been getting colder and colder lately. I knit you a sweater to keep you warm! Love, Mom_

Kyungsoo pulls the cable knit sweater out of the box and holds it up to inspect it. It’s not too flashy, a burnt orange color, and the material is nice and soft.

“Oh,” Junmyeon says with a smile. “Is that from your mom?” He sets down the mug of hot chocolate in his hands and walks over to Kyungsoo, his fluffy socks softening the sound of his feet.

“Yeah.” Kyungsoo hands the sweater over to Junmyeon who lays it down on the living room carpet with a satisfied smile.

“She’s so good at knitting,” Junmyeon admires. Kyungsoo nods as he watches Junmyeon smooth out the sweater carefully and look over the patterns. “You should wear it today.”

Kyungsoo silently assesses the wearability of the sweater as Junmyeon continues to worship the thing. His roommate has been attempting to knit a variety of scarves and he’s moving onto hats, but he doesn’t seem to be very successful based on the misshapen lumps that are scattered around their apartment.

“Okay,” Kyungsoo finally says, tugging the sweater out of Junmyeon’s hands and heading to his room. “Get changed, hyung,” Kyungsoo says in response to Junmyeon’s squawk of protest.

~

Twice a month on a Friday or a Saturday, a group of his friends finds time out of their busy schedules to have a movie night. Most often it’s at Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s apartment because they have the most extensive movie collection.

Tonight is no different as Kyungsoo pulls on his sneakers and waits for Junmyeon to finish his hot cocoa. Junmyeon hasn’t made it to their movie night for the entire month and Kyungsoo can tell the elder is bracing himself for the impending attack of hugs and scolding that he’ll get from the group.

“It’s okay, hyung. You can just treat us all out next time,” Kyungsoo teases, when Junmyeon lingers by their door.

“It won’t stop them from barraging me, will it,” Junmyeon sighs. Kyungsoo shrugs his shoulders in solidarity. The few times he missed it, Jongdae and Chanyeol always ended up tackling him onto the floor and sandwiching him between them the entire duration of the movie.

“It’s better just to get it over with,” Kyungsoo says. Junmyeon droops a little, his handsome features becoming a little exasperated but amused.

“I missed an entire month. I don’t know how long it’ll take for them to get over it.”

Kyungsoo laughs and nudges Junmyeon in the direction of their bus stop. “You’ll be fine.”

It takes about ten minutes to get to their apartment. Junmyeon has stopped fretting over his entrance into the apartment as they walk up the stairs.

“I wonder what we’ll watch today,” Junmyeon says as they make it to the third floor.

“I don’t know if we’re watching something foreign or not,” Kyungsoo answers. They reach the door and Kyungsoo knocks.

“Kyungsoo,” Jongdae says with a grin. Stepping aside he lets the younger in but stops Junmyeon from walking in with a mischievous look on his face. “Chanyeol, Junmyeon hyung is here!”

“Coming!” Chanyeol yells from the kitchen. Kyungsoo stifles a laugh as Chanyeol runs to the door and pushes Jongdae out of the way to give Junmyeon a big hug.

“Hyung, you gotta let us know ahead of time when you aren’t going to make it,” Chanyeol says as Jongdae punches Chanyeol in the arm.

“I wanted to hug him first!”

Kyungsoo takes off his coat and sets it on a kitchen chair, smiling at the mess at the front door. The shoe rack has been knocked over in Chanyeol’s haste to get to Junmyeon and the vegetable platter that Junmyeon had in hand is now in a heap on the ground from being jostled by Chanyeol’s hug. In fact, Junmyeon himself seems to be frazzled by the force of Chanyeol’s hug.

“How long do you think they’re going to keep him there?” Baekhyun asks from behind Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo turns to see Baekhyun cradling a bowl of popcorn as he points to the front door with buttery fingers.

“Until someone else shows up,” Kyungsoo says, taking some popcorn for himself. “Who else is coming?”

“Minseok said he was going to be a little late. Jongin, Sehun, and Yixing are going to be here in a few more minutes.” Baekhyun turns to say something else, but when he finally makes eye contact with Kyungsoo his hand full of popcorn freezes halfway up to his mouth.

“What’s wrong?” Kyungsoo asks when Baekhyun blinks a few times and brings the popcorn up to his mouth but continues to stare at him weirdly.

“Nice sweater,” Baekhyun says as he reaches out to touch it with his greasy fingers.

Kyungsoo pushes him away and hands him a napkin. Baekhyun smiles sheepishly and takes it.

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo finally answers. Baekhyun finishes wiping his fingers and puts a hand on Kyungsoo’s sleeve.

“Soft.” Baekhyun smiles and his eyes become two curved lines. “Where’d you get this from?”

“My mom knit it,” Kyungsoo says as Baekhyun takes little steps closer to him.

“Mama Do at it again with the wonderful fall wear,” Baekhyun jokes as he finally gets close enough and engulfs Kyungsoo in a hug. “Warm,” he says with a laugh when Kyungsoo awkwardly pats Baekhyun’s back.

“Are you cold?” Kyungsoo asks when Baekhyun doesn’t let go immediately.

“Yeah,” Baekhyun mumbles as he snuggles into the hug. Kyungsoo finally reciprocates it and Baekhyun lets out a soft sigh. “What kind of material did your mom use?”

“I don’t know,” Kyungsoo responds as he lets Baekhyun’s popcorn scent wash over him. The hug feels different from the ones Chanyeol jostles him into, and the warm feeling Kyungsoo gets in the pit of his stomach makes him push Baekhyun away.

“Let’s get the food ready,” Kyungsoo says, feeling his face go into expressionless mode.

“Okay,” Baekhyun replies, oblivious to Kyungsoo’s internal discomfort. “What did you guys bring?”

“A vegetable platter,” Kyungsoo says, straight-faced. He can tell that Baekhyun is holding in a laugh.

“The one on the ground over there?”

“Yeah.” Kyungsoo walks to the front door to grab it. Luckily the platter is in a plastic bag, keeping the vegetables contained, although the ranch isn’t as lucky.

“Do you guys have any ranch?” Kyungsoo asks, showing Baekhyun the splattered mess inside the platter.

“I think so. Let me check.”

Just then, Sehun comes in through the door with a quiet, “Hello.” He moves so fast before Jongdae or Chanyeol can grab him, he’s already collapsing onto the couch.

Jongin isn’t as lucky, and he ends up getting an enthusiastic clap on the back from Jongdae. Yixing is right behind him, and instead of having everyone move in, the doorway becomes more congested.

“Tired?” Kyungsoo asks Sehun. The younger has his hair dyed silver, and with his disgruntled expression, he looks like an unhappy cat.

“Very.” Sehun sits up to watch Baekhyun and Kyungsoo pass each other bowls and toothpicks. “Cute,” he mumbles before falling back onto the couch.

“Did our maknae have a bad day?” Baekhyun coos sarcastically. Sehun mumbles something rude from the couch before Jongin comes running from the doorway and falling on top of him with an “oomph!”.

Baekhyun laughs, nudging Kyungsoo and giving him a grin. Kyungsoo finds himself returning the smile with his own and he feels warm all over again. Before he can think much about it, Yixing patters over to them and inserts himself between the two of them to help with the food.

“Oh, a vegetable platter,” Yixing says with a dead look on his face. “I love vegetables.”

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo responds. Yixing looks up and gives Kyungsoo a sleepy blink of the eyes.

“Kyungsoo, you’re so smart.” Yixing pats Kyungsoo on the back then takes the vegetable platter to the living room.

Kyungsoo turns to Baekhyun in bewilderment and gets a laugh in return.

“Time to start the movie,” Minseok yells from the cacophony at the front door. He’s still wearing his coat and his hair is windswept, but he looks ready for a good movie.

“Yes,” Sehun suddenly shouts from the couch where Jongin is still sitting on him. “Movie!”

Within fifteen seconds, everyone is at the couches fighting over who gets to sit on the couch and who gets the remote. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo bring the rest of the snacks over and end up sitting on the ground.

“It’s okay. All I did was help prepare all the popcorn and all the snacks,” Baekhyun mutters bitterly as he yanks a blanket out of Chanyeol’s hands. “I guess I’ll just have to keep warm with these blankets.” He yanks another blanket out of Sehun’s hands and gives it to Kyungsoo who’s sitting even farther from the middle.

Kyungsoo laughs at Sehun and Chanyeol’s protests and wraps the blanket around himself. Baekhyun gives Kyungsoo a smile and scooches closer to him as the movie begins.

Halfway through whatever they’re watching, Kyungsoo finds Baekhyun leaning into him and wrapping an arm around his waist. Kyungsoo tries to ask Baekhyun what he’s doing, but Baekhyun whispers, “You’re really warm” and ends the conversation.

By the end of the movie, Kyungsoo can barely remember what happened. Instead, he’s thinking about how soft Baekhyun’s hair is against his cheek and how nice it is to have his arm wrapped around him.

When Baekhyun finally lets go, Kyungsoo feels colder and has to resist the urge to wrap his own arms around himself.

“That was good,” Jongin says with a sad look on his face. “But I feel so empty inside.”

“What are you talking about?” Sehun scoffs, staring at Jongin in disbelief. “How does Spider-Man make you feel empty inside?”

“I feel emotional,” Jongin says looking sadder and sadder as he stares at the end credits.

“Wow, Captain America sure is a shitty way to end the movie,” Sehun deadpans, earning a laugh from Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“I have to go to a doctor’s appointment tomorrow,” Junmyeon says, stretching his back. He looks over at Kyungsoo with a questioning look. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Kyungsoo gets up, letting the blanket fall to the ground. “Let’s go.”

“Wait, what about clean up?” Jongdae asks.

“We really have to get going,” Junmyeon says with an apologetic smile. If it was anyone else, they’d be forced to stay, but Junmyeon is too genuine.

“Okay,” Jongdae relents. “See you soon then.” It’s more of a command than it is a question.

Kyungsoo silently gets his coat and shoes, returning Jongin’s wave and rolling his eyes when Chanyeol lets out a wail of despair. “But I barely got to talk to you, Soo!”

He’s almost through the door when Baekhyun comes barreling forward and wraps Kyungsoo in a hug.

“Stay warm,” he says, pulling back with a soft look on his face. “Bye, Soo.” Baekhyun turns to give Junmyeon a hug too. “See you, hyung.”

Kyungsoo looks away and waits for everyone to say goodbye, feeling a little colder than before.

When they finally get home, Junmyeon must notice how withdrawn Kyungsoo is, because he asks, “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Kyungsoo answers immediately.

“Is it because of Baekhyun?” Junmyeon asks, very straightforward.

Kyungsoo finds himself at a loss for words when he realizes what Junmyeon said. “What?”

“I come back a month later and it still seems like neither of you is going to talk about whatever is going on between the two of you.” Kyungsoo is staring at Junmyeon in surprise as he plows on. “And you didn’t, but Baekhyun seemed very inclined to hugging you.”

“I suppose the cold weather made him more prone to hugging,” Kyungsoo replies. “I mean he hugged you too.”

Junmyeon looks at Kyungsoo with something akin to a smirk, although that shouldn’t be possible because Junmyeon doesn’t smirk.

“Only to cover his own ass.” The sentence doesn’t sound right because Junmyeon just swore and Junmyeon doesn’t swear.

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing,” Junmyeon finally sighs. “It’s nothing, Kyungsoo.”

~

“You’re wearing another sweater,” Baekhyun notices with a pleased smile.

“I wasn’t going to wear a t-shirt,” Kyungsoo answers, tugging at the top of his turtleneck out of habit.

“Did your mom knit this one too?” Baekhyun teases.

“No, Junmyeon did.”

Baekhyun stares at the turtleneck in amazement for about half a second before he realizes that Kyungsoo is messing with him.

“I hate that I almost believed you.”

Kyungsoo gives him a small smile, stumbling when Baekhyun gently shoves him in retaliation.

“Where do you want to eat?”

Kyungsoo’s internship is close to the store Baekhyun works at so they meet up often for lunch. Today is no different.

“Do you remember that noodle shop we went to awhile back?” Kyungsoo asks. Baekhyun narrows his eyes thinking about it.

His face lights up when he remembers. “Sounds good.” He sneaks his hand into Kyungsoo’s pocket and wraps his longer fingers around Kyungsoo’s.

“My hands were freezing,” Baekhyun says in response to Kyungsoo’s questioning gaze. He’s not lying, they’re dry and cold, so Kyungsoo tries not to think too much of the action as they walk to the shop.

That night, Junmyeon is out at some late night drinking session with the higher-ups, so Baekhyun invites himself over.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Baekhyun greets him. Kyungsoo hasn’t had time to change out of the clothes he wore to work today, so when Baekhyun ends up circling arms around him again, Kyungsoo chalks it up to his turtleneck.

“Cold?”

Baekhyun nods and watches Kyungsoo pour some water into his cup. “Where’s your roommate?”

“Out of town,” Baekhyun sighs. “He’s out collaborating.”

“Sounds fun.”

“For him, sure,” Baekhyun says with a snort. “I’m lonely.”

“That’s why you’re here pestering me?” Kyungsoo asks, jokingly.

Baekhyun laughs but pulls away so that he’s leaning against the fridge instead. “That’s why I’m here.”

Kyungsoo takes a sip of water and looks down at Baekhyun’s hands. There’s unreadable tension between them now, but Kyungsoo doesn’t understand why.

“Do you want to watch something?” Baekhyun asks, breaking the silence. Kyungsoo looks up and is relieved to see a familiar smile on his face.

“Sure. What do you want to watch?”

They end up sitting on the couch and watching a rerun of some action thriller. Baekhyun’s eyes are trained on the screen the entire time, but Kyungsoo finds himself paying more attention to Baekhyun’s fingers grasped in his own, and the way they curl into each other as the scenes get more exciting.

They’re in the middle of an action sequence when Baekhyun whispers, “Like what you see?” He laughs when Kyungsoo straightens up and scoots a little farther away, trying to cover up his mistake.

Baekhyun just moves with him until Kyungsoo is squished up against the arm of the couch with Baekhyun close by. A few more minutes pass before Baekhyun tugs Kyungsoo up by the arm and throws an arm around him so that their sides are pressed against each other again.

“Don’t be shy, Soo.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t respond as he watches a man’s arm get cut off, but he leans into Baekhyun a little more in reply.

When Junmyeon gets back, he finds Baekhyun tucking a blanket around a sleeping Kyungsoo.

“Good evening, Baekhyun.”

“Hi,” Baekhyun whispers as he grabs his coat. “I have to go now, but I’ll see you later, hyung.”

Junmyeon smiles knowingly as Baekhyun gives Kyungsoo a quick look before dashing out the apartment door.

~

Baekhyun invites Kyungsoo and Chanyeol to a big birthday party one of his coworkers is throwing.

At first, Kyungsoo doesn’t want to go because parties have never been his forte, but Chanyeol and Baekhyun wheedle him the entire week. The final straw is when Junmyeon pulls out the burnt orange sweater and gives Kyungsoo an approving nod.

“That’ll charm all the party goers.”

So Kyungsoo ends up nursing a beer bottle against a wall as he watches Baekhyun flirt with one of the girls he works with.

“If you stare any harder, she’s going to drop dead,” Chanyeol says from, seemingly, out of nowhere.

Kyungsoo turns to glare at Chanyeol and gets a sharp intake of breath from the taller.

“Oh yeah. That’s the look.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Someone’s jealous,” Chanyeol sings. He has to drive Kyungsoo and Baekhyun home so he hasn’t had any alcohol, giving Kyungsoo no reason to ignore him.

“I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“And you’re also not pining over our fellow friend over there.”

Kyungsoo just glowers and takes a swig of the bitter beer.

“Don’t worry. She’s not even that pretty,” Chanyeol says with a comforting pat on the shoulder. They both know it isn’t true, but Kyungsoo just goes with it. It’s not like it bothers him anyway.

Baekhyun turns just then and makes eye contact with Kyungsoo. Immediately, Kyungsoo wipes the upset expression off his face so that he looks much more neutral. Maybe a little bored, but neutral nonetheless.

Chanyeol waves Baekhyun over, and Kyungsoo feels himself getting a little lighter as Baekhyun excuses himself from talking to the girl and walking over to them.

“You’re leaving me and Kyungsoo lonely over here,” Chanyeol whines, pulling Baekhyun closer and sending Kyungsoo a suggestive grin.

“Sorry. It’s Sunyoung’s birthday. You know I can’t just ignore her.”

“Right,” Kyungsoo says with a smile, hoping it doesn’t look too forced. “How long do you want to stay here?”

“I was thinking a few more minutes and then we could bounce,” Baekhyun says, surprising Kyungsoo.

“That fast?”

“Yeah, I’m not feeling up to it,” Baekhyun replies. Kyungsoo doesn’t disagree, seeing as they’ve been here for close to three hours and Kyungsoo has gotten progressively grumpier and grumpier.

“Okay,” Chanyeol says, drawing out the end of the word and letting go of Baekhyun. “Go make your rounds and then we can get going.”

“Yessir,” Baekhyun replies sarcastically, pushing off the wall and going to say goodbye to everyone.

“He doesn’t want to stay,” Chanyeol says with a nod.

”Weird,” Kyungsoo says, setting down his bottle and tugging at his sweater. The room is pretty cold, especially by the brick wall and Kyungsoo is glad Junmyeon convinced him to wear the sweater.

Chanyeol snickers to himself and say something like, “obtuse” under his breath. It doesn’t go unheard by Kyungsoo and earns him a kick in the shin.

They drive Kyungsoo home, but not before Baekhyun gives Kyungsoo another long hug. This time Kyungsoo sees Chanyeol wiggle his eyebrows through the window. Kyungsoo flips him off as he hugs Baekhyun back.

“‘Night, Soo,” Baekhyun calls out as Kyungsoo walks into his building.

“Good night, Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo answers with a small smile.

~

They have another movie night two weeks later, but Kyungsoo has a fever and can’t make it. Junmyeon checks to make sure he has hot tea and his phone near him, just in case he needs anything.

“Hyung, I’ll be fine,” Kyungsoo reassures him. Junmyeon keeps going from each end of the bed to the next.

“How many layers are you wearing?”

“Two,” Kyungsoo says, pulling the fabric of the t-shirt out from underneath the wool sweater Junmyeon shoved over his head.

“Okay. Okay,” Junmyeon mutters to himself. “Oh shoot.” He runs out of the room and Kyungsoo sighs against the pillows as Junmyeon goes through the cupboard.

“Here, I forgot the most important thing.” Junmyeon holds up a small bottle of pills like it’s the holy grail and sets them down on Kyungsoo’s nightstand. “I think that’s good.”

“I think you’re right,” Kyungsoo replies, giving Junmyeon a tired smile. “I swear I’m fine, hyung.”

“You have a 39 degree fever, don’t tell me you’re fine,” Junmyeon says, giving Kyungsoo the shivers because of the similarities Junmyeon shares with his mother.

“Okay, go to movie night. I’ll call you if I need anything. I swear.” Kyungsoo gives Junmyeon a reassuring nod and waits for Junmyeon to leave.

“Okay, fine. But you’ll call me if your temperature gets worse, right? I have the thermometer in the drawer next to you. If it gets any worse, you need to call me because 41 degrees is when you might get brain damage.”

“I will call you,” Kyungsoo says as firmly as he can, laying in bed. “Go, hyung.”

“Okay, I’m leaving,” Junmyeon says more to himself than to Kyungsoo.

“Bye.” Kyungsoo finally sinks back into his bed and shuts his eyes when the front door closes.

He doesn’t know how long he sleeps for, but it’s definitely not long enough when he hears the door open again.

“Hyung, if that’s you, I’m fine. I don’t know why you’re back so soon, bu-”

Baekhyun is definitely not Junmyeon.

“Hey, sick person,” Baekhyun says as he walks into his room with a smile. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Kyungsoo answers, surprised by Baekhyun’s appearance. “What are you doing here?”

“Junmyeon kept worrying about you, so I offered to come and check on you.”

“That’s a little much, isn’t it?” Kyungsoo asks, exhaustion making him blunter than usual.

“I suppose that’s true,” Baekhyun says with a laugh. He finally reaches out to put a hand on Kyungsoo’s forehead. The coldness of his fingers makes Kyungsoo sigh in relief. He’s long since thrown off the wool sweater.

“Where’s the thermometer?”

“In my drawer.” Kyungsoo points to it and Baekhyun finds the device easily.

“Open up,” Baekhyun says, laughing when Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at him. They wait a minute before the beep alerts them that his temperature has been measured. “38,” Baekhyun says with a nod. “Looks like you’re already getting better.”

Kyungsoo lets out a weak laugh and closes his eyes. “Looks like you came here for nothing.”

“Not for you,” Baekhyun says after a pause. Kyungsoo’s eyes fly open and he stares at Baekhyun, not sure if he heard him correctly.

“What?”

“You’re sick. Of course, I’d ditch movie night to watch over you.”

Kyungsoo and Baekhyun look at each other before Kyungsoo is pulling Baekhyun closer. “Thanks.”

Baekhyun slips off his coat and at Kyungsoo’s glare, pulls off his scratchy jeans, leaving him in boxers and a t-shirt. Kyungsoo is so tired, he doesn’t even feel embarrassed for forcing Baekhyun into a state of undress so that he can get a hug from him.

Baekhyun climbs under the covers and laughs when Kyungsoo sidles right up to him and waits for Baekhyun to wrap his arms around him.

“I’m not wearing a sweater,” Kyungsoo says as Baekhyun pulls him into his arms. “Is that okay?”

“Hm?” Baekhyun answers, confused.

“You only hug me when I’m wearing a sweater.”

Baekhyun buries his face in Kyungsoo’s hair as he laughs again. “I’m only brave enough to hug you when you’re wearing a sweater. You look all soft and small. I can’t help it.”

“You’re small too,” Kyungsoo retorts. Baekhyun hums in agreement as he hugs Kyungsoo a little tighter.

“That I am.”

Kyungsoo sighs into the hug and shuts his eyes.

“When you aren’t sick anymore, can I kiss you?” Baekhyun asks quietly a moment later.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo answers back with no hesitation. Baekhyun grins at that.

They end up falling asleep soon after.


End file.
